


Catching Up

by ShadeShadow234



Category: Gintama
Genre: Angst, Character Death?, Gen, Gintokis past, Hurt/Comfort, Survivors, The plot grew legs and ran away from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 01:09:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8824099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeShadow234/pseuds/ShadeShadow234
Summary: Of course, the past has a way of catching up. It always does.Always.Or, the time a survivor Amanto from the Joui war, with a grudge against Gintoki shows up in the Yorozuya.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this kind of popped into my head... Meh. Enjoy! I own nothing but Tomoto and the Okoto.

Of course, this was bound to happen eventually. You can run, and run, and run, but... The past has a way of catching up. Muscle memory, nightmares, and survivors, once, they had brung an onslaught of crashing memories, of fighting and fighting and fighting, which usually left him curled up in an alley somewhere clutching his head and willing the memories to leave.

He found drinking helped, it numbed the memories and dulled instincts, so he could finally walk past Amanto without reaching for a sword that wasn't there.

Once he'd found a place to stay, he'd figured he'd be safe from the past, hiding behind walls and doors, although never other people. He couldn't bring himself to put that burden on others shoulders, especially those who hadn't fought in the Joui war.

He started up a business, an Odd Jobs. Helping others to stop the guilt from overwhelming him. It was almost selfish, but selfish was all he could do. No one else would take in a stray dog with its fangs bared. 'Stupid old lady.'

He'd found a type of sword he could carry around, a Bokuto. It was barely legal, but he felt like he could relax for the first time in a while.

After... God, how long had it been? Well, it had been at least five years. Maybe more, maybe less.

After five years he'd gone to a quaint little cafe for the first time, and ordered a parfait, only to have it spilled all over the table he was sat at.

He'd beaten up the Amanto who'd tripped the pair of glasses, passed Lake Touya onto the glasses, and thought nothing more of it.

Of course, things had a way of coming back to bite, and he'd ended up working with the kid.

A few weeks later, a girl ran out in front of his scooter, and the Odd Jobs duo became a trio.

The girl, Kagura ended up taking in a giant dog, an Inugami, and once some bumps had been smoothed out, the dog, Sadaharu, joined their little family.

As time went on, more and more people connected with him, and he found himself in the middle of a slightly dysfunctional, insane family. Stalkers, monsters, Mayo-Freaks, sadists, Gorillas, and weird duck things, he wouldn't have it any other way.

But the past always comes back.

\--- --- ---

Gintoki groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. The smell of Sake was strong in his room, he must have gotten really drunk last night.

A loud bang came from the living room, and Gintoki sighed. Damn kids, couldn't they keep it down? Poor Gin-San's hungover.

Another loud bang.

Gintoki shook his head to clear it, he wasn't likely to get any more sleep toni.... This morning. Pulling himself out of bed, he quickly changed into his usual clothing, fussing with the sleeve he had hanging loose for a moment.

Sliding his door open, Gintoki began to shout. "Shut up, would you? Damn brats..." He ran a hand through his curly hair.

"Oh, Gin-San, we have a client!" Gintoki made his way to his desk, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on the table.

Kagura and Shinpachi sat on one of the couches in the middle of the room, with Sadaharu lazing around behind them.

On the other side of the table, on the opposite couch sat a rather twitchy Amanto, it was almost bird like in appearance, long purple feathers covering what they could see of it and disappearing into an elegant kimono. A cruel beak glinted in the artificial light of the Yorozuya, and it fiddled with some sort of Amanto device, turning and spinning it with sharpened talons.

It jumped at the slightest sound, and Gintoki noted one eye had been slashed out, by a sword of some kind, on the side closest to him. Perhaps the request was revenge?

"Alright, Tomoto-San, our boss is here now. Do you mind starting from the beginning?" The Amanto, Tomoto, tilted its head to the side. "Ah... Right..." His voice was soft, and hesitant. "I... Fought in a war... I'd like to... Ah..." He paused, and he set the device down on the table. "I'd like to... Employ someone... Yes, to get the person who... The person who took my eye..."

The whole time he spoke, he sat ramrod straight, not turning in the slightest. Once he was finished, he picked up his little device, which Gintoki realized was a specialized type of Amanto gun, one shot to stun and two to kill.

Shinpachi crossed his arms. "Well, we'd love to help, would you mind describing the person?" "Ah... Right... He was feared... By both sides... People called him... They called him Demon..." The story was starting to sound awfully familiar to Gintoki, and he took his feet off his desk, and stopped picking his nose.

"I didn't... Think that he'd be that strong... I thought they were lying... Yes, yes... People are such liars..." Kagura tapped her foot impatiently. "Oi, oi, hurry it up! We're people on a schedule here!" Shinpachi turned to her. "Kagura-Chan, we don't have a schedule..." "Shut up, glasses!" "Oi!"

Tomoto continued on regardless of the arguing people across from him. It was almost like he'd been swept away by his memories. "They said he... Yes, they said he tore through the... The battlefield... That he cut down many... He cut down, so, so many... Yes, yes he cut them down... He was a... Yes he was a white demon... Ah, The ShiroYasha..."

Shinpachi turned away from Kagura, who in turn, started ignoring him. "Uh, Tomoto-San?" He hesitantly reached across the table, as if to shake the Amanto out of his reverie, when his hand was blocked by Gintoki.

"Uh, Gin-San?" Kagura turned back, forgetting about her argument with Shinpachi in her curiosity.

"Careful." Shinpachi frowned, but retracted his hand.

However, as Gintoki stopped Shinpachi, he slightly drifted into the edge of Tomoto's vision, and the bird Amanto simply... Moved.

And Gintoki remembered.

It had been raining.

It had been raining and they were winning. The Amanto were being driven back, but they received reinforcements from a tribe of Amanto Gintoki later found out were called the Otoko.

They were like birds, with fearsomely sharp beaks and talons. They were brightly coloured, though their beautiful colours slowly faded as their feathers were covered with blood.

He'd taken the incentive, and charged into their midst, killing as many of the deadly birds as he could.

But not enough. He hadn't killed enough of them.

Their commander, a purple one, the purple one which was now in his house, had engaged him, and they both barely escaped with their lives, pulled away by the ever changing tides of battle.

Gintoki had ultimately lost the battle, as the Amanto slowly proved to be too much for his comrades, and the bird had lost an eye.

And now, as Tomoko sat across from him, Gintoki almost jerked backwards to avoid the shot Tomoko had fired, he was clearly free of the memories of the past.

Almost.

Shinpachi and Kagura were behind him, and if he moved, one of them would get hit, and getting hit by those things hurt, if Takasugi's word was anything to go by.

There was no choice. He'd sooner die than let anyone touch a single hair on Kagura or Shinpach's head.

It was like having every sense assaulted at once, and then shut off. Huh, looks like what Takasugi said was true...

He was faintly aware of slumping to the ground, of Shinpachi and Kagura's startled cries, of Sadaharu's growling.

Kagura leapt over the table, and punched Tomoto. Hard.

The bird didn't seem affected, aside from a small gasp as air escaped his lungs, which was remarkable. If anything, he seemed shocked. "You're... An Amanto... Why?"

Kagura snarled in response. Shinpachi scrambled for the practice Bokuto he had under the couch, pulling it out and pointing it at Tomoto. "Because Gin-San is precious to us!"

Sadaharu padded to Gintoki's side, crouching over him to shield him from the Amanto.

The bird seemed to fully come to his senses at that, and flipped over the couch. "He killed my companions!" His soft tone of voice, and his constant trailing off had all but disappeared.

"You don't understand! You weren't alive during the wars, young ones! He was a demon! He is a demon!" Shinpachi faltered, glancing at Gintoki. "Gin-San...?" His brown eyes met Gintoki's pained mahogany ones, and he turned back to Tomoto, sword raised, and resolve strengthened.

"What happened in the past doesn't matter now! Gin-San is still Gin-San, no matter what you say!" Gintoki, barely conscious at that point, made a silent vow to tell Shinpachi and Kagura about Shoyō-Sensei. They deserved it.

Tomoto snarled. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way!" Each of his words was punctuated by his fists, as he duelled with Kagura. Shinpachi gulped, he was outclassed here. Glancing at Gintoki one more time, he summed up his courage, and began his own assault on Tomoto.

The Amanto cursed, he was backed into a corner. How that... That monster had gotten these children on its side was beyond him.

Gintoki would have given a pained moan, if he could. Shinpachi and Kagura shouldn't have to fight for him, but moving sent waves of agony up his body, leaving him immobile. 'Damn it!' Sadaharu turned away from the fight, snuffling Gintoki's curly hair, as if he could sense his owners pain and frustration.

That proved to be a big mistake.

Tomoto, seeing the giant dog distracted, took a chance. A wild, dangerous, reckless chance.

He shot his gun at the immobilized Gintoki.

Neither Shinpachi or Kagura were given time to react, Tomoto with his experience, moved faster that neither of them could pick up on.

The shot was perfect, skimming between Sadaharu's legs, and dissipating into Gintoki's chest. The trio froze, Sadaharu froze as he realized he failed his master, and Shinpachi and Kagura froze as they realized they weren't good enough. They couldn't save Gintoki.

Tomoto spat at their feet, and left.

None of them moved.

None of them could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about the original version of this. God, it was horrid.

Tomoto ruffled his feathers indignantly. How dare those children try and prevent him from extracting revenge upon the one who not only took his eye, but the one who killed many of his kind, his brothers and sisters.

Not to mention, two of them had been Amanto much like him, Amanto whose species had fought in that war, Amanto who were among the last of their kind.

How _dare_ they.

That man, no, that was too kind for it. That demon surely had contributed to the gradual decline in their species, much like his. And for what? Why did it fight? To save a world with one foot in the grave.

Foolishness.

It was only years of battle honed instinct that saved Tomoto from being trampled by an Inugami.

It was only sharp eyesight that saw the bullet that had been fired from the girls umbrella, aimed to disable his wings.

And it was only a chest plate he had worn for years under his Kimono that prevented the boy from skewering him.

Tomoto blinked at his assailants. "Why...?"

He received no response.

The children once again launched an attack, and they worked together like some well oiled machine, much unlike before where their movements had been frantic and unorthodox.

Tomoto reached for his blaster, it had yet to fail him, planning to stun the young ones and make his exit, because it was not an escape, he could deal with these... Hatchlings. Or so he told himself. But the blaster was grabbed away from him by young hands, and smashed.

You see, when a Yato has lost someone, anyone close to them, their strength surpasses even the strength of a million men. Tomoto had just killed a Yato's surrogate father.

You see, samurai live by a code, a bushido. That code dictates their actions, their limits, their very life style. However, there are places where the code grows a little fuzzy when it comes to Amanto, as it wasn't made with them in mind. As such, the Samurai that opposed Tomoto felt no code of honour restricting him.

You see, dogs are extremely loyal. Even the most disobedient dog loves it's master, a love that is quite unlike any other. This is even more so for Inugami, as they are the Dog Gods, the alphas. Anyone who managed to tame the alpha of alphas was someone truly special indeed. Tomoto had just killed the Inugami's master.

And now he was going to pay. And he was going to pay in blood.

\--- --- ---

Gintoki was floating in a dark, dark void. "Ah, looks like I'm back here..."

He had visited this void many times, mostly during the war. He had visited it again when Nizou surprised him with Benikazura. Hosen has certainly had him stuck here for longer than usual. Jiraiya had sent him in faster than most other people could claim to be able to, but if you were to ask it was simple luck.

Not like he'd been caught off guard or anything.

Not at all.

... Why was he here again? He'd woken up, and done his usual morning routine, oh yea, they'd had a client. Who was it agai-

Oh. The Amanto, the one who survived the war. What were the chances someone he'd fought in the war would survive, and come back to hire him to kill himself?

But something was different this time. It felt more permanent. It felt like the void was going to swallow him whole.

'What... The hell..' Speaking was hard.

And suddenly he wasn't floating anymore. He was drowning in thick black syrup, trying to claw his way to the surface, but there was no surface, no end to the sea in which he was stranded.

Just as his last breath slipped out, the syrup flooding his lungs and overwhelming his senses, a dim light began to shine just within his reach.

Drudging up the last of his strength, Gintoki once again began to push his way through the tar that tried to drown him.

\--- --- ---

Kagura left dents in the streets and in the walls of any unfortunate buildings in the vicinity.

Sadaharu left scratches, the deepest of which was on a shop labeled 'Love-Ru Dango' (really, what a ridiculous name) was over six inches deep, and slashed across the sign, showing just how hard the Inugami was fighting.

Shinpachi was doing both of the above, although his dents weren't as deep, nor were the slashes in nearby buildings.

And Tomoto? One of his clawed hands, as well as the wings from which it emerged was crushed, Kagura's umbrella hitting home. The wound over his eye was reopened, and deepened by Sadaharu's deadly claws. His chestplate had been shattered by Shinpachi's Bokuto, and metal shards were digging into his chest.

He was defeated, welly and truly.

But the Okoto were a very, very prideful species. It was their pride that sent them out to the Joui War, it was their pride that kept them fighting through their extinction, and it was pride that kept Tomoto standing before them.

\--- --- ---

" _Gintoki_." "'Shin'achi... G'way... Five 'ore minu'es..." " _Gintoki, wake up_." "Nooo..." " _Still lazy as ever I see_."

Wait, that voice, it was so familiar. It couldn't be...

"Shoyō-Sensei?" Two simple words, but they had the weight of the world behind them. " _Yes, Gintoki_." "I... I'm sorry... I didn't want to-" " _Gintoki_." The tone his tutor used was simple, but commanded attention. " _It's not your fault. We promised, remember? You'd protect Katsura and Takasugi in my place_."

Gintoki bit back a sob. "B-but I failed. Takasugi wants to destroy Edo, and so does Zura(1)." " _Yes, Gintoki, but that's the path they chose, you had no control over what they wanted to do_."

And suddenly Gintoki felt like a child back on the battlefield, desperately dodging swords from angry samurai and weapons from angrier Amanto until one side won, and he was left to strip the corpses.

Next thing he knew he was curling his fists into fabric he couldn't see, and sobbing into someone long dead.

A gentle hand caressed the back of his head, and Gintoki finally let all of the pain and heartbreak that had accumulated since a time before Gintoki could remember out.

Finally, after what had felt like and eternity and a second, Shoyō gripped his pupils shoulders. " _Gintoki, you need to go back to them. You're someone's Shoyō now, don't let them down like I did you_."

"I won't, it's a promise."

\--- --- ---

Even though Tomoto was half dead, he still fought with every inch of the experience he owned, and slowly, the tides were turning in his favour.

Kagura's umbrella was out of bullets, and a cut across her forehead hindered her vision.

Sadaharu was held back by smashed ribs, from when Tomoto had broken off the 'Love-Ru Dango' sign and smashed it into his side.

Shinpachi had lost his glasses somewhere, and had gained a concussion, and so he could barely see straight.

But they still fought, for their precious Gintoki who they wouldn't fail again, even if it killed them.

Tomoto grabbed a hold of Kagura's umbrella as she swung it at him once more, tugging it out of her sweaty grip and swinging it around to block Shinpachi's swing, knocking his Bokuto out of his hands.

Tomoto lunged forward, throwing the umbrella back at the young Yato to keep her unbalanced, and gripping the hilt of the Bokuto, flipping it around and driving it down towards Shinpachi.

Blood splattered the street.

"Shinpachi!" Kagura let her umbrella fall.

And Tomoto fell to the ground, a sword piercing his heart.

"G-Gin-San?" Gintoki grinned, hiding a wince as his muscles protested.

"Gin-Chan!" "Gin-San!" "Arf!" And Gintoki was enveloped in a crushing hug by a little girl, a little boy, and a puppy.

\--- --- ---

When things had calmed down, Gintoki sat Shinpachi and Kagura down, both bandaged and and relieved, Sadaharu lying behind them ribs splinted, and began to speak.

"Once there was a boy who was called a demon, and a man who took the demon in..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) faintly, somewhere far away, a cry of "ZURA JA NAI KATSURA DA!!!" Was heard.
> 
> I hope this is better. If it's not, tell me what I did wrong. I'll remedy it. :)
> 
> Also, in regard to Shoyō *SPOILERS if you haven't seen the most recent episodes* Shoyō is dead, but Utsuro is not, and that's why there wasn't any... Visible body where Gintoki was.

**Author's Note:**

> Well... This was only meant to be a one shot, but hey. Cliffhangers.


End file.
